These Moments
by Ginny-Rose95
Summary: "It's these moments that stand out from the normal crazy that show us the magic of it. These are the moment's to cherish, the moments that tell us we did right babe." Stephanie's had a rough day and it's up to her husband to show her the good in it.


"Natalia Isobel! Get down from there!" Stephanie very nearly had a heart attack, spotting her one and a half year old daughter dangling precariously from the breakfast nook table and ran towards her. Her daughter simply scooted closer to the end, smiling cheekily at her mother. Stephanie went to pick her up and the child immediately started wailing, screaming no off the top of her lungs until she found her thumb, sucking on it and shaking her head back and force, little whimpers still professing from around her small fist.

"Mommy! Mommy! Carli took my truck!" Stephanie closed her eyes, breathing deeply before turning to the voice. Her young son, a small boy of three years of age with dark mocha skin, wide brown eyes and a mop of black, widely curly hair, was running toward her, small tears trailing as he wailed of the abuse of his sister. Stephanie put her baby down, cringing when she immediately began wailing, that open-mouthed, straight from the lungs scream that only a child could pull off.

"Raphael, sweetie, I'm trying to calm Natalie down, can you please try to work it out with your sister?" Raphael took one look at his little sister; her brown face still scrunched in a wail, gave his mother a sweet smile and nodded.

"Okay mommy! Carli!" he yelled the last word, running from the living room, curls bouncing widely. Stephanie sighed and picked up Natalie again, bouncing her up and down until she stopped crying and began giggling. Stephanie placed her on the floor and was about to return to the kitchen when an ear-splitting screech filled the air. Stephanie's heart skipped a beat and she ran into the playroom off the entry way, where her oldest child and only son stood. Little Natalie ran behind her mother, placing one hand on her leg, the other clasped tightly in her mouth.

"What happened sweetheart?" Stephanie cooed to the four year old, bending on her knees to talk to her. "Breathe in, sweetie, stop crying, and talk to me. You need to stop crying." She waited as with some difficulty, the four year old stopped crying and, while wiping her eyes, began talking.

"Raphael hit me." Stephanie frowned at her son and daughter.

"Why did Raphael hit you?" Carli looked down at her small, stocking-clad feet.

"Because I took his toy," she mumbled, wiping her eyes and swinging back and force, her small, flowered dress swaying with the movement. Stephanie frowned and gently but firmly plucked the small toy-truck out of her son's hands, ignoring his cry of protest.

"Now, because you two were fighting neither of you get this," both the children started wailing at that, closely followed by Natalie, who had been eyeing the toy her mother put on the high shelf, out of their reach, even with a chair. "Stop crying and listen to me!" Stephanie felt a twitch starting in her left eye and willed it to be nap-time. "It is lunch time, after lunch we are going to take our nap and if you are good, after nap we can a juice box and peanut butter-ketchup cookies, do you want a ketchup cookie?" All the kids nodded, including little Natalie, and they followed their mother into the kitchen.

"Carli, Raphael, go potty." She told the two kids as she pulled the tray off the high chair and allowed Natalie to climb up into it before placing it back on. A flush of the toilet and the reemergence of her son made her nearly relieved, they were finally listening to her, and she might just make it through the day with all three of her children alive at the end of it. She made the sandwiches, olive and peanut butter, caught Raphael's and Carli's in half, Natalie's into quarters, drained some pears and put a handful of cheetos each.

She placed them on the table before spotting her oldest sitting in the living room, eyes glued to the television. "Carli? Go potty sweetie," she turned to give Natalie and Raphael their sandwiches. She turned again and sighed deeply; Carlie was still sitting, eyes unwavering from the television. Stephanie grabbed the remote and shut the t.v. off. Immediately, Carli turned to her mother, eyes wide.

"Mama! I wanted to finish that!" Carli pouted, "Please turn it back on?"

"No." Stephanie told her shortly, turning back to Natalie and wiping her with a damp rag. Carli immediately began crying and Stephanie did what she did best in these impossible situations, blamed their father, and moved on. If he hadn't had woken them up when he left at four in the morning, they would be having a normal, good day. She disregarded the fact that she was the one who insisted on the alarm installed for every time a door was opened.

"Rosabela Carline! You get in there and go potty and I will turn the television back on for while you eat, but only if you stop crying." Carli immediately dried up and ran to the bathroom, accidently slamming the door in her haste. Once she returned to the room, Stephanie turned the television back on and peace resumed for another hour, the children playing well as Stephanie put the food away and sort of did the dishes.

That was, until they sat in her room, Stephanie fighting with a sobbing Carli. "But I don't need to go to bed mommy!" Stephanie could feel the twitch beginning again and swore under her breath.

"Carli, be quiet! You are going to wake the baby!" Stephanie hissed, trying to simultaneously be sympathetic to her child and strict. Carli started crying louder and she groaned audibly. "Rosabela, please! Just go to sleep!" More crying. "If you are bad you don't get your cookie," she pulled out her last stop. Carli blinked.

"Ketchup cookie?" Carli requested, her light blue eyes standing bright against her light brown skin. Stephanie nodded and Carli smiled widely, showing her teeth. "Okay mommy, I'll be good." Carli laid back down beside her mother and Stephanie pulled the covers over her gently. She looked over her daughter's form to see wide, slightly tired eyes.

"You to Raphael, go to sleep baby." He nodded and lay back down, whispering an 'I love you mommy' before drifting off. Stephanie watched them for a while making sure they were actually asleep before slipping out of the bed, and opening the door. She walked down the hall, opened the door to Natalie's room and quietly peeked in, checking that she was still asleep. She was, her small fists clenched tightly to a Mickey doll, body curled around the edge.

Stephanie walked over and recovered her, giving her a gentle kiss and walking out, closing the door with a slight click as she did so. She was relieved, at least she had a few hours until the kids were up again, which meant she could probably slip into the bed in her thinking position and go to sleep for a while. She slipped into the bed with that pleasant thought and after a few moment's she was off to dreams along with her children.

"Babe." A quiet voice filtered through her dreams as she struggled to remain asleep. "Babe." There was a hint of amusement in his tone now, and a warm and calloused hand stroked her back.

"Lemme go back to sleep," she grumbled. Her husband's quiet, deep laugh resonated off her as he gently slipped into the bed beside her.

"Rough day babe?" he asked her as he gently stroked her back, pushing her hair behind her ear and kissing her temple gently.

"You're staying with the kids tomorrow," she grumbled before shooting up. "The kids!" she looked around frantically. Neither Carli nor Raphael was any where to be seen and she felt a wave of fear enter her. She shouldn't have fallen asleep, if anything bad happened she would have never forgive herself. "Oh god, I'm the world's worst mother! They are probably dead or –" her husband's warm hands wrapped around her, his deep laugh vibrating against her back.

"Babe, they are in the office playing, everything's okay. Natalia's up, I already changed her, Raphael and Rosabela are in their underwear, everything's fine, you are a wonderful mother." He assured her, smiling as she turned to him. He'd never used the nicknames Stephanie did, stating simply enough that he loved his children's names and didn't want to alter them.

"You think I'm a good mom?" she asked. She knew he could feel her exhaustion and even after the few hours of solid sleep she was still so. She wasn't cut out for this.

"Babe, I've thought you were a good mom the moment the doctor's put Rosabela in your arms." He smiled that small, half smile that she knew and loved.

"Are you sure?" he nodded, taking her hand and pulling her softly out of the bed.

"Come with me babe," she wordlessly followed her husband into the office. They stood in the hall unnoticed by the kids. Natalie sat patiently as her older sister gently tried braiding her short, thick brown hair. Carli was quietly singing along with Raphael while Natalie attempted humming. Stephanie recognized it as a Spanish lullaby their grandmother had taught them. Raphael braided his sister's hair with much difficulty, the small curls falling from his chubby fingers. It was an adoring sight and Stephanie could feel the large smile growing on her face.

"See what we've done babe?" Ranger's voice whispered softly in her ear, his strong arms wrapped tightly around her waist. "We've made three beautiful children and every day, they show us that. It's these moments that stand out from the normal crazy that show us the magic of it. These are the moment's to cherish, the moments that tell us we did right babe." He kissed her softly, patiently, unbeknownst of their children.

"I love you, thank you." She told her husband, kissing him again. "That's probably the longest thing I've heard you say since your vows five years ago." Ranger laughed again, and Stephanie's eyes softened again, "but don't ever think you are getting out of it, I'm going out to find skips and you're staying home with the kids," Ranger grinned.

"Whatever you say babe," he kissed her again as their children played quietly. Stephanie had to agree, these were the moments of magic.

* * *

><p>So, I live with my grandparents, aunt and uncle and their three kids. I was baby-sitting yesterday and I had this idea for a one-shot. Rosabela (Carli) is based on my cousin Hailey, Raphael on Matt, and Natalia (Natalie) on Emma Lee. I thought it was cute and I enjoyed writing it and I hope you enjoyed reading it!<p> 


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